By Greg Gielczyk
ROSCOMMON — Houghton Lake struggled rebounding against its county and Jack Pine Conference rival Roscommon in Wednesday night’s MHSAA Class C district semifinal game in Roscommon, and had trouble with its fourth quarter execution.
But, the Bobcats survived all that to pull out a narrow 43-41 victory over the Bucks and advance to Friday night’s district championship game against McBain Friday at 7 p.m. Despite its problems, Houghton Lake led at every quarter stop.
The Bobcats outscored the Bucks, 16-9 in the first quarter and finished the first half with a 22-18 advantage. It stayed close in the second half, with the Bobcats leading, 31-25 after three.
John Steckler hit the winning shot after the Bobcats ripped down an offensive rebound as time was expiring in a dramatic finish befitting a game between arch rivals.
“I thought we played well defensively for the most part,” Houghton Lake coach Jeff Goodwin said. “We gave up baseline a few times, and they did a good job against our press.
“But, in the quarter court the guys defended very well. We did not rebound well at all. They killed us on the glass, and it kind of negated the defense we were playing. If we don’t give up second chance points, we would have won pretty comfortably.
“That was what a rivalry game should look like. It was one of the most surreal moments of my career. For Johnny, our four-year varsity player, to hit that shot is a defining moment for him. Lots of credit to Cam, also. He made a great rebound, and had the quick thinking to hit Johnny. I am so happy for our boys.”
John Steckler led the Bobcats with 12 points and Cam Sidelko added 10. Also scoring for the Bobcats were Brock Decker with nine points, Jackson Blanchard with eight and Shawn McKinley and Joey Peterson chipped in with two apiece.
Goodwin said the Bobcats were a little careless with the ball, and Roscommon almost capitalized. He emphasized that the Bobcats need to avoid those problems in the district finals.
“We’ve been gearing up for this moment since (last) April,” said Goodwin. “The work the kids put in at 4-on-1 workouts, the summer camps, conditioning and weight lifting … it all was for a chance to compete against the best.
“We are not ignorant. We know what we are up against. But, we are excited for the opptorunity.”Despite battling through illness all night, Blanchard made a massive impact on the game. Goodwin was especially impressed with Blanchard’s defensive performance.”He calmed the storm for us down the stretch,” said Goodwin. “With eight seconds left, to have the wherewithal and decision making to go coast-to-coast and find a cutter was a huge senior moment.”It’s the second district final appearance for the Bobcats in the last three years, and many of the seniors were there to experience the first one. Goodwin expects them to benefit from that, and know what the atmosphere is like.
